


Devilish Smile

by CynicalBonehead



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: Demonic Possession, Demons, Haunting, Homophobic Slurs, Jerafina Tabouli - Freeform, M/M, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Parsley Botch - Freeform, Possession, Puppets, Scratching, Sleep Paralysis, Smile for me - Freeform, Supernatural Elements, Wallus Breadbear - Freeform, When have I not made a demon au, boris habit - Freeform, kamal bora - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2020-05-20 20:41:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19384291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynicalBonehead/pseuds/CynicalBonehead
Summary: What was supposed to be a harmless thrift store adventure, brought something into Kamal and Parsley's apartment. As the days go on, it becomes more and more active.Keep an eye on that puppet.





	1. Thrifting and Filming

When shopping, does an item ever call out to you? Almost like it is tempting you to take it home with you?  
Maybe that sensation goes by many names. Impulse buys...and so on.  
Though this was not the case for Kamal Bora.  
He had just wanted to dick around in a thrift store with his roommate, Parsley Botch. Thrift stores usually don't have anything spectacular, though Kamal thought otherwise. Sometimes he'd find interesting items that would be useful as a gag gift. However they didn't seem to have much luck that day.  
Parsley did see a few odd looking miniature naked baby statues, but Kamal put his foot down.

"Fuck that. No. You're just gonna hide them around the apartment so you can scare the shit out of me."

Parsley laughed a little. "Bold of you to assume I won't accidentally scare the shit out of myself."

Kamal rolled his eyes and walked off to one corner of the thrift store. Leaving Parsley to contemplate over the weird baby statues.  
Then something caught his eye. Lying face up, in a container that had children's stuffed animals, was a peculiar hand puppet. Kamal gently picked it up and looked it over. It wasn't creepy in the slightest. It had green skin, long brown hair, a...pink boa? collar? Kamal couldn't tell. The puppet even had a little top hat. He couldn't help but smile at the little fellow. He looked like he was carefully made, but had some pieces of lint stuck to it.

'Why would someone just donate a handmade puppet like this?' Kamal thought to himself.

He inspected it further and it fit just nicely onto his hand. Didn't feel a single hole in the puppet at all. As expected, Kamal started moving the puppet's mouth a little bit. Parsley raised a brow and chuckled watching Kamal.

"Didn't realize you had a thing for puppets." He snickered.

Kamal rolled his eyes. "I don't. This lil guy just kinda looks like he's far above thrift store quality, you know?"

Parsley walked over and took a better look at the thing. "Huh. You're kinda right about that. Looks like something a Grandmother would make for her grandchild."  
He scratched his neck a little. "Maybe the kid outgrew it. Or its a mystery we will never know."

"Right. Thank you Parsley for your wonderful observation. Your law degrees are showing again."

Kamal studied the puppet for another moment. He had guessed that the 'impulse buy' urge was overtaking him. He just felt so transfixed onto the little man. If he had went to put the puppet back, he would feel bad about leaving it behind.  
He then shook his head a little. He felt like he was being silly. Kamal was no longer a child, what purpose would that puppet serve him?  
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Parsley moving to the check out, with a damned miniature baby statue. Kamal walked over to catch up with him, but stopped in his tracks. He took one last look over his shoulder, at the puppet.  
That feeling of guilt was washing over him now. He bit his lip a little, looking back and forth between the doll and Parsley at the counter. Finally, Kamal made a decision, and he scooped the puppet back up. For whatever reason, he could not leave it behind.

"Really?" Parsley raised a brow, at the puppet tucked under Kamal's arm.

"You bought the damn statue. You have no right to judge me." Kamal huffed as he tried to finish the transaction.

The drive back to their apartment was mostly filled with harmless banter and empty threats about the baby statue. Once they got back inside, Parsley went off to his room to 'plot', aka nap.  
Kamal was in his own room, trying to find a place to sit the puppet down. His desk chair was currently unoccupied, so he sat the puppet upright on it. He chuckled a little bit looking at his purchase. The puppet was rather charming the more he looked at it. With a light laugh, Kamal left the room to go make himself some dinner. It was more like he had to look around, mix some stuff together and prays its edible.  
All he really did was boil some pasta and look around for some sauce to use.

Parsley sighed into his bed and rolled onto his side. He just couldn't fall asleep, much to his annoyance.  
He tried his best to close his eyes and zone out. However, Parsley began to hear something odd in Kamal's room. With a groan, he sat up and made his way to the bedroom beside his. Assuming Kamal was just being loud, he tapped on the door.  
"Kamal, the fuck are you doing in there?"

"Doing what?" Kamal answered from the kitchen.

Parsley looked very confused for a moment. "Did you hear something coming from your room?"

Kamal raised one brow, skeptical of his friend, especially since they had talked about scaring each other, hours before.  
"No, and if this is that prank you had planned, you better step up your game Pars." He laughed a little. "Get creepy!" With that, Kamal walked back into the kitchen.

Parsley couldn't blame Kamal for not believing him, but he had to look to see if maybe what he heard was a mouse. He already began thinking about the price of mouse traps, while looking around Kamal's room. On the floor, was that puppet Kamal had bought. It didn't look like anything bit into the puppet, just that it fell over. Parsley glanced around to see if maybe a window was open, but looked like both of them were shut.  
'You're just a lil spooked Parsley. Make note to hunt for mice later.' He thought, as he tossed the puppet onto Kamal's bed and walked out.

Kamal watched Parsley plop onto the couch and narrowed his eyes comically.  
"If you just planted something in my room I will shave your eyebrows in your sleep Botch."

Parsley chuckled while reaching for the remote with his foot.  
"I'm trembling in my shorts. Kamal your empty threats aren't the least bit convincing."

Kamal rolled his eyes and drained water from the pot of pasta. "Okay well what did you do in my room then?"

"Thought I heard mice. I'll check more thoroughly later. Though your little puppet was on the floor." Parsley said while channel surfing for something interesting.

Kamal took a moment to think hard about it. Didn't he set up the puppet in a way that it wouldn't fall over? It didn't strike him as particularly odd at the time. He decided to shrug it off for the most part and finish with making dinner. As usual Parsley helped himself to it, because he wasn't feeling like cooking. Though Parsley paid his dues by washing the dishes, even if he looked grumpy the whole time. Kamal instead was just hopping out of the shower and getting dressed for bed.

His puppet was just laying on the bed. Kamal was a bit relieved, that whatever was in his room, didn't get to the lil guy. He plopped onto his bed and rummaged in his bedside drawer, for his lint roller. A little corner of Kamal's mind wondered how long the puppet was in the thrift store. There wasn't too much lint stuck to the thing, but it still got him thinking.  
Honestly, he felt rather silly. Fixating on a thrift store puppet, was the most eventful thing to happen to him that week. Aside from his nightmares coming and going.  
Nope nope nope. If he thought about them, they were more likely to happen. Kamal just tossed the roller back into his drawer and slid under his covers.

On any other night, he'd just put whatever was in his bed, onto his desk. Though Kamal didn't want to toss the puppet off his bed for some reason. He brought it closer to him and tucked it between his arms. It wasn't unusual for him to have things to cuddle in his sleep but...a soft puppet just had to be added to the list, he supposed.  
It wasn't long until Kamal closed his eyes. The last thing he remembered was hoping tonight would be a peaceful night for him.  
He was half right.

 

In the middle of the night, Kamal woke up suddenly and with urgency. Much to his horror, he couldn't move his body. Not even his limbs. He could only move his eyes.  
'Sleep paralysis.' Was the first clear thought that hit him.  
Kamal's heart was racing, as he couldn't even yell out for Parsley to help him. He felt totally helpless. Instead of sweating, he felt cold.  
So cold.  
He wanted to cry.

Just then. He could feel something else in the bed with him. It was right.  
Beside.  
Him.

He couldn't see it, but he could feel that cold air around him getting colder. Something was laying on his chest.  
It felt like an arm.

He couldn't see it.  
He could feel it.  
It was there.

Then came what felt like another arm. Sliding right under him.

Two arms wrapped around him.

Oh god.  
Oh god.  
Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god.

He could feel something breathing on him.

 

His breath held out of pure terror, was quickly expelled. After feeling the cold air around him, slowly go back to room temperature. The arms were still draped around him, but he could breathe easier at that moment.  
Why?

What was happening to him?

It felt as if the fear was leaving his body, and whatever held him was…...comforting?

Before he knew it, the fear had left his mind completely. Kamal couldn't process any of it, was he dreaming? Was it his dissociation? He couldn't tell anymore.  
All Kamal knew was, he was very tired.  
Very very tired.  
His eyes finally closed, unable to ignore the urge any longer.

 

 

 

When he awoke, the puppet was right beside him, his own arms were laid about. Kamal had to pop his arm a little, the price to pay for having it raised above his head. Other than his cold stiff arm, he felt fine.  
His clock read: "8:45am"

'Didn't even sleep in ...I usually oversleep when nightmares like that get me. But was that even a nightmare?? It felt so real.' Kamal sighed. His thoughts swimming.  
'My nightmares never end like that, but maybe they're finally changing.'  
He tried to reassure himself.

With a slow pace, Kamal checked the calendar to see if he had to go into work that day.  
Well.  
Guess it was time to kick his routine into high gear.

'Right. That kid has to be sedated for teeth extraction. God dammit MY FAVORITE.' Kamal mentally screamed while making his way to the bathroom.

First brushing of his hair, teeth, flossing, then washing his face. He had it all in that specific order or he'd go nuts. He brushed his hair 7 more times, before stepping out of his room to take his meds.  
To the surprise of no one, Parsley was half passed out next to a bowl of cereal.

"Parsley you dead?"

Parsley raised his head rubbing his eyes, almost like a zombie. "Nnnnnoooooo… i...feel like it though.. how are you so awake right now.."

"By the time I finish my routine, I'm wide awake. Which by the way," Kamal smiled softly, "your breath fucking stinks."

Parsley narrowed his eyes and dragged himself out of the chair. "Wiseass."

"Bitch!" Kamal shouted while waiting for his breakfast burrito to finish microwaving.

Kamal practically inhaled the burrito so he could hurry up and get himself dressed. As he was looping his belt in his pants, he glanced down the puppet on his bed. He considered that, perhaps having him brought along, would make sedating a child easier. It wouldn't kill him to try after all.  
With that in mind, Kamal scooped the puppet up along with his other belongings and got his shoes on.  
"Parsley I'm going!!!"

Parsley stuck his head out of the bathroom, shirt backwards. "Later!"

He just shook his head and laughed before walking out.

 

 

 

 

The office had a few nurses already walking around, the few that knew Kamal, greeted him as he passed by. There in the break room, was Wallus, sipping his black coffee. He greeted Kamal with a simple head nod.

"Hey Kamal." Wallus chuckled at the puppet under Kamal's arm. "Brought back up? How old is the kid you're working on today?"

Kamal was rinsing out his thermos, in the sink. "6 years old. Got a fear of needles. I don't blame him though. Though maybe he could use a distraction."

Wallus slumped a bit, raising his brows. "Sure he ain't too old for that?"

"I have ways to distract kids. It isn't as hard as you think." He shrugged a little. "Who knows. Maybe this little guy can help." Kamal said while opening and closing the puppet's mouth.

They parted ways and Kamal was preparing the room. Didn't take much since Wallus already did a thorough job with his janitorial position. His puppet sat happily next to the sink, waiting for the next time to be picked up. Kamal glanced at it.  
'I guess I need a name for him. Kids might ask about it." Kamal pondered. Just then, a name suddenly popped into his mind. 'Habit. Heh. that's kinda cute actually.'

Before knew it, the small boy was brought in by a nurse, the mother right behind him. Kamal smiled at him and said hello.  
"Come on just sit in the chair for me, Mom can you just sit in the chair right there? You can bring it closer to him if needed."

The boy looked very tense and moved as slow as possible.

Kamal stood next to the boy, with Habit on his hidden arm. "Yknow I have this funny little guy that has had his teeth worked on."

"R...r-really?" The boy stuttered.

Kamal pulled out Habit slowly and the boy sat up to look at the puppet better. "Hes very well made, wanna feel?" The boy nodded and Kamal let him touch Habit's hair. "You wanna talk to him? I know you're nervous. Thats okay."

"I-I. I don't want the needles in my arm..." He looked quite pitiful, his mom patting his hand to comfort him.

Kamal decided to let the puppet have its own voice to comfort the boy. "Oh I under-stand! How about... we uze some laffing gas to help u relacks? It helped me quite a-lot!! No pain just smiles and smiles!" He didn't understand at the time, but it felt like it wasn't really him talking. Like it was someone else.

It seemed like the boy liked the idea, and was administered the laughing gas, before being given the iv drip in his arm. By that time, his mother was walked out and the procedure began. The doctor did joke him a few times about Habit, but it was harmless banter. The rest of the procedures were so pleasant, that the day went by so fast.  
Though, he thought about the first procedure of that day, while he was getting ready to head home. Wallus had just returned for the night shift and almost scared the shit out of Kamal.

"Christ Wallus!!!! Can you stop sneaking around like that????" Kamal's voice cracked, which made Wallus laugh pretty hard.

"You're just so jumpy, I couldn't resist man, besides you look piss tired." Wallus patted Kamal on the back. "Go ahead and head home. You need some shut eye."

Kamal sighed and stretched for a second. "Yeah okay.... see you tomorrow." He lazily waved to Wallus as he signed out of the check in system, and trudged out the door.

 

Wallus sighed. Poor guy looked like he wore himself thin today, that or Kamal had chugged a lot of coffee prior to coming in that day.  
The night shift had never been creepy before...but something was different about the office. Wallus tried to shrug it off and check each of the op rooms to see if they were empty. Completely empty.  
All except for a familiar face sitting on a counter.

'Looks like Kamal left this thing behind..' Wallus thought, looking at the puppet.

Just then, it felt like the room's temperature had dropped 20 degrees. Wallus could feel the hairs stand on the back of his neck.  
'Maybe the air system is messing up. I...better go check it out.' He shifted away from the room and went to go check in the security office.  
The thermostat looked like it wasn't messed with. The air in every other room felt fine. Everything felt fine...so what was going on????? He didn't get paid nearly enough for that shit.  
Wallus glanced out of the corner of his eye, to see something moving on a security camera. The camera itself was glitching in and out. Wallus tried looking on the other cameras for their night guard, but he seemed to be on another floor. He reluctantly looked back at the screen.  
It was the room where the puppet was.  
A shadow looked like it was forming from underneath the door, and rising up off the floor. There was no way it was a visual glitch. There was no fuckin way.  
The shadow looked like it was the size of a tall ass man, but completely pitch black. Slowly, it was trudging its way to the camera. Static sometimes cut out the feed and the shadow got closer every time the feed cut. Wallus shook with intense fear, as he backed away from the screens. The shadow completely engulfed the screen startling Wallus to loose his breath. What in the hell was he supposed to do???????

Then.  
It appeared.  
On the screen, two piercing eyes opened and stared through the camera. Right. At. Him.

 

Wallus didn't wait to find out what the hell it was. He snatched his keys up and bolted right out of the office. Adrenaline pumping in his veins. He didn't want to look back. Fuck that. Fuck that shift.  
He bolted right for the elevator and frantically hit the down button. It didn't matter that the elevator wasn't going faster. He was desperate. Frantic. Breath was going faster than it ever should.  
Frozen in place, Wallus had to look over his shoulder. His mind couldn't handle the idea he had his back to whatever entity was in the building.

Very quickly, he jerked his body around and planted his back next to elevator.

 

There under the lights, behind the secretary's desk

 

stood the shadow entity. Only its eyes were present. Much to Wallus' horror, it almost looked like there were multiple of them. Vanishing and reappearing.

 

The ding of the elevator broke the eye contact between them, and Wallus charged for the elevator and practically smashed the 'close doors' button.  
The entity flashed a toothy smile, before the doors shut.

'What...in the fuck.....' was all Wallus could think, as he prayed that THING didn't follow him.


	2. Cleanliness and Decay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wallus tries to enlist Kamal's help, over what happened during his nightshift.  
> At first things seem fine, but things get progressively weirder with him.  
> 

Wallus had waited outside the hospital, waiting for Kamal to show up for his shift. Despite him being terrified of stepping into that building again, he had to warn Kamal. That...THING he saw the previous night, did it have something to do with the hospital???  
Or..  
Kamal?  
Wallus shook his head at the idea. Kamal didn't seem like he was affected during the work day. Then again, everything he had read, had said that spirits are active at night. Good lord his head was swimming. He didn't get an ounce of sleep, and it was plainly obvious. With a heavy sigh, Wallus checked his watch, only to be relieved to hear Kamal walking up to the entrance.

"Hey Wallus-Woah. Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Kamal laughed a little but started to frown when he noticed Wallus wasn't. "Wallus..?"

Wallus stuck his shaking hands in his pockets and took another deep breath. "Can I ask you something..? Uhm. Have you seen anything weird in the office lately...?" His eyes shifted a bit nervously.

"Weird as in....seeing a nurse use the water hose to fill up her instant macaroni cup weird or.." He paused, meeting Wallus' eyes. He clearly looked shaken, but Kamal was in disbelief. Had he really seen something that shaken him this badly? Surely hearing spooky stories about hospitals of all places, weren't unheard of. Wallus had joked now and then about seeing things before, but this time he looked 100% genuine.  
"Wallus. Did you actually see something last night?" Kamal wore a look of concern.

"Come on. It's better if I just...show you myself." Wallus said, leading Kamal inside.

They greeted the morning security guard, as they made their way to the security office on the 4th floor. Wallus unlocked the door with his janitorial keys and walked over to the security screens. He had worked with the systems long enough to know how to playback footage from less than 24 hours ago. Kamal just watched, puzzled and felt a bit doubtful about his friend.  
Until Wallus exclaimed loudly when he found the precise moment in the footage. "Aha! Okay.. just. Please tell me you see what i saw.." Wallus stood back quite a bit from the screen, as it began to play.

Kamal stared into the security screen and watched carefully. He could see Wallus moving to the security office, checking things. Wrong screen. He had to focus on the one Wallus specifically pointed out to him.  
Then his blood ran cold.  
There manifesting from underneath the door, was a growing shadow. What in the hell was he seeing???? It looked like a person but no light was coming off of them. Then it started walking down the hallway. Its movement was unnerving, Kamal couldn't even describe the feeling this thing gave him. The shadow then was right under the camera, before everything went black. Kamal squinted to see if it just went out.  
He nearly feel backwards when two eyes made themselves visible directly into the camera, looking right. Through it.

"H-What the hell..?" Is all Kamal could say. 

Wallus made a wheezing sound, but kept the footage going. Kamal watched the cameras film Wallus running down the halls, though Wallus had never seen the rest of the footage past that point. He moved next to Kamal to watch. The shadow was moving through the office, reacting to the sound of Wallus running. Through the lobby camera, they could barely make out the back of the shadow entity, that just watched Wallus go down the elevator.  
Then, the shadow turned towards the camera behind it. It's smile was still showing, and it paralyzed them both. The shadow tilted it's head, still smiling and just poked the camera. The rest of the footage from the camera was shot. 

"Jesus christ.." Kamal tried to take a second to wrap his mind around what he just saw. "Wallus what the hell was that..that thing!!" 

"Hell if I know-OH SHIT!" Wallus jumped seeing the vhs tape he loaded in the security vhs player, was smoking.

""What the fuck?!"" Wallus and Kamal collectively said.

Upon careful inspection, aka Wallus putting on gloves, the film inside the tape was burned almost completely. Wallus dropped the tape in fear, neither of them could say anything. How in the fuck could they explain anything now???? Wallus licked his lips a few times, struggling to piece his thoughts together.

"I'm not supposed to be on my shift just yet. Okay..." He ran his fingers through his hair and paced a little. "I-I'm...gonna go to a local church. Maybe the priest can loan me some holy water or somETHING!!! If this thing is lurking in the hospital man... I-I don't wanna think about what its capable of."

"Should we tell someone-"

"Who will believe us Kamal?!" Wallus threw burnt tape in the trash. "There's no evidence anymore!! Apparently whatever the fuck this is..it doesn't want anyone else seeing it."

Kamal leaned against the wall. "What am I supposed to do then?!"

"Keep your eyes out? I guess? Stuff like that doesn't get extremely active in the daytime I think."

Kamal squinted his eyes in frustration. "Cool so I'll be the sacrifice while you use your piss poor grammar to get some holy spray to maybe punish this demon...spirit..THING like a bad dog???????"

Wallus sighed. "Just. Be chill. For once." He picked his keys back up again and walked out.

"You were the one coming to me all shaken about it! Now you're chill all of a sudden??????" Kamal tried following Wallus out but he got hushed instead.

"Listen. It's only because I kind of have a game plan now. I'm still scared shitless but. Someone at least believes me now." Wallus entered the elevator and went down.

Kamal huffed and took a deep sigh.  
'Sure. Leave with the last word. Hypocritical bitch. Guess I'm that idiot who dies first in a horror movie.' He thought to himself, while pacing down the hall.  
Something caught Kamal's eye.  
A door was open. The numbers were the same as the one as the room the entity came from. Nervously, he decided to peek insidento see if maybe a nurse left it open on accident. To his relief, the room actually looked completely normal. He honestly expected it to be trashed, like you'd usually see in the movies. Then in the trashcan, he spotted a familiar green material. With a little sigh, he dug in to see his puppet!  
'Habit what in the world were you doing in there?' Kamal chuckled to himself, pulling the puppet out of the trash. 'Guess whatever that thing was, didn't like you very much. Whatever. Least you're in one piece.' Kamal happily thought to himself. 

Kamal sat down to clean the puppet a little bit. His mind having a bit of a field day amd he needed a moment of relief. For some reason, he was fixating on being mad. He just felt so negative in that space. Was..he supposed to be mad? Was that feeling valid? Kamal did feel bad for forgetting the lil'guy the night before. As much as Kamal wanted to shift his mind into not thinking about the damned shadow thing, it kept creeping up on him. That thing looked so…

He shook his head, as if the thought was a spider crawling on him. He glanced at his puppet and just slid it onto his hand.  
It didn’t feel normal, being on his hand. It was as if wearing the puppet suddenly filled him with dread. By the minute it became more than that. His stomach felt like it was in knots.

‘Maybe...that burrito wasn’t cooked all the way.’ Kamal thought, as he held his stomach.

He suddenly got up, dropped the puppet and walked his way to the staff restroom. He needed to book it, if he wamted to avoid making a mess. If he had to miss work just because of a stomach bug, he’d be severely disappointed. Not to mention his shift had just started!  
Kamal groaned as he reluctantly planted himself on the floor next to the toliet. He just waited to see if anything would happen. It had been nothing but cramps and pain. Had it all been a coincidence, after listening to Wallus that morning?  
At that point he just wanted to stop sitting on the bathroom floor, but the anxiety of possibly puking afterwords bound him there.

He jumped a little, hearing a knock on the door.  
“h-Hello..?”

“Ah! Sorry Kamal! I..was just checking to make sure you were alright.. Are you okay in there?” It sounded like a co-worker of his. Nurse most likely.

Kamal gagged just a little. “I...think I got food poisoning…” He sighed in resignation.

“You know you have to be sent home right? Besides working while you’re sick is bad for your health.” The Nurse huffed.

Both of them got quiet for a second, until the nurse heard the unmistakable noise come from the bathroom.  
“Kamal, I’m gonna go get your things, where did you leave them?” The nurse wanted to bop herself a little because how was Kamal supposed to talk at the moment.

Kamal lifted his head and weakly spoke “room 2B... “ then had to go right back to business involuntarily.

The Nurse sighed out of pity and went right over to room 2B. Right by a chair, was Kamal’s jacket, papers and….a puppet? She tapped her chin, trying to recall if she saw him with it yesterday. There was chatter that day, that Kamal had used one to help a patient. Best guess was that he did own it. She shrugged it off and picked up the puppet along with everything else.  
She went back to the bathroom and waited outside for Kamal. The oddest thing was, she felt like her arm was really warm. The one holding the puppet.

Kamal stood up and rinsed his mouth out with water.  
‘God that was fucking awful.’ Kamal thought to himself. He washed his face just a little and took a deep breath. ‘I’ll have to go home. Maybe I can make up the hours next week…’

He stepped out of the bathroom and smiled at his co-worker handing him his things.  
“Thank you. Can you tell the doctor that I had to go home? I’ll call him later.”

The Nurse nodded and smiled. “Sure thing Kamal. I hope you feel better!” She cheerfully said before she walked off.  
Once she reached the break room, that odd warm sensation stung. She rolled up her sleeve to see a scratch mark that went all the way down her arm.  
"What the hell….?"

 

Kamal put his jacket back on and tossed his puppet and other things in the passenger seat of his car. He’d check in with Wallus later, Kamal just wanted to get back to his apartment before he got any sicker.  
The drive felt agonizingly long, so getting to his door was a big relief. He dumped his papers onto his bed, dragged his trash can to the living room and laid out on the couch. He glanced over, and his puppet was nicely tucked by his side. The time was about 12:10 pm, from what Kamal could see on the wall clock. Damn. Perhaps it was him being sick, but he felt exhausted. He could barely keep his eyes open.

Just…a quick nap. Wouldn’t hurt him.

 

 

Parsley dragged himself through the front door, staggering from a long day at work. He was so ready to just collapse on the couch and just go full couch potato-  
Or he would, if he didn't notice Kamal passed out on it. Poor guy, he looked a bit paler than usual. Kamal was just fine that morning....perhaps the busy bee didnt cook his food all the way. Parsley chuckled a little. Kamal was very naggy, but sabotaged himself in his haste.  
'Lil funky hypocrite.' Parsley thought.

While trying to be as quiet as he could, Parsley went to go put his suitcase in his room, before getting a snack. Soon as he reached his room, he thought he heard someone shuffling about in the living room. Shit. Did he wake Kamal up? He braced himself to get a sickly earful from his friend, and walked out the doorway.  
That..  
was not Kamal.  
It looked like a tall man stood over Kamal while he slept. It barely looked like a man the more Parsley stared. The entity was so black, that no details, other than it's piercing red eyes, could be seen. Parsley's whole body tensed, his blood draining from his face in fear. Parsley was so quiet, he could hear his own heartbeat through his ears. The shadow raised it's head and looked directly at Parsley. Translucent eyes started appearing around the shadow. Staring. Blinking at him.  
Then it showed it's teeth in a big, toothy grin. Parsley tried to move backwards, but his frozen limbs made him fall back instead. He looked up again, and the Shadow was right in front of him.  
It reached out to grab his face and as soon as it's piercingly cold fingers touched Parsley's face; He jolted upwards in a panic...from....

  
his bed...?

Parsley needed a moment to wrap his head around it all. He was in his bed.  
Did. Did he fall asleep without remembering it?  
With swift and quiet steps, he peeked inside the living room, to see the TV on. Kamal was still laying on the couch and there was no sign of the shadow entity.  
"k-Kamal...?" Parsley hesitated.

Kamal turned his head a little and smiled at Parsley. "You almost look as bad as me."

Parsley sighed in relief. It was his friend. God what was he even thinking?

"Did you have a nightmare during your nap? You look as pale as me." Kamal sat up a little and sipped some water.

"Maybe? I don't even remember falling asleep...and you were passed out cold when I got home." Parsley still felt skeptical. Just a little bit.

Kamal just raised his brows for a second and relaxed. "Sounds like a sleepy haze Parse. You've done it before. Like last week you swore up and down you took a shower but you just ran the shower and went to bed while the water ran."

Parsley sighed, recalling getting slammed with a hefty waterbill. "Oh. Yeah right..right.. Sorry man. I just. The dream I had was freaky as hell. Almost like. The Exorcist levels of spooky.. fuck. Why are you home early oldbay? I mean ANYWAY."

Kamal just laughed a bit hard in response to that. "Oh..oh man, you must really want seafood with that seasoning huh. I got food poisoning I think. Work wanted none of it and booted me home." He shrugged a little, as if to say; oh well.

"Next time, cook your shit a bit more dumbass." Parsley walked to the kitchen.

He dropped his charade as soon he was at the fridge. That dream bugged him. It was too real for his liking. Parsley took a quick glance over his shoulder and Kamal was still on the couch.  
Was his paranoia making him distrust his own friend? Childish thinking, but his gut wouldn't let it go. He grabbed a bagel, headed to his room and picked up the phone in his room. He said a phone number aloud, as he punched the keys in. The dial tone made it feel like an eternity before someone picked up. It was a female's voice.

"Helloooo?"

"Jerafina! It's me. Parsley." He tried to not sound anxious but his words were a bit shaky.

"Ohhhh fuck. Hey boo. Listen I'm behavin' okay? I still got my teachin' job woop woop!" Jerafina laughed, she did sound just a bit tipsy.

Parsley sighed. "I'm not calling as a lawyer Jera. I'm calling as your friend."

"Oh. mmmkay. What's up honeysuckle?"

"Listen. Something is going on around here...I think i might need your 'help', if you weren't just trying to brag while drunk and you are the real deal....." Parsley licked his lips nervously. "Are you free tomorrow..? Please Jera."

The line went silent for a second.

"Okay. We can talk tomorrow. Give me deets by then. Be careful Parse.."

Click.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions Questions and more Questions...  
> Next chapter will finally answer some.  
> Stay tuned ;-]


	3. Entitlement and Ownership

Parsley hadn't huddled in bed like that since he was a child. Sure maybe there were other times, but not where he was fearing a boogeyman like entity. Okay. That was half a lie, but his current situation was verry different. His mind was constricted with fear and had doubt whispering in his ear. The possibility of it not really existing, or actually existing, was tearing his mind apart. His gut was trying to tell him to get up and check on Kamal. However, he was paralyzed in his bed.  
‘I’m sorry Kamal...Please be okay in the morning…’ Parsley thought to himself, trying to breathe in a calm rhythm.

His friend was less than alright, despite his high hopes. Kamal tossed and turned in his bed restlessly. Something in his mind told him to open his eyes. He just wanted to fucking sleep, but no matter what he did; the thoughts did not go away.  
Then.  
A voice he did not recognize, echoed in his mind.

‘Wakey wakey littol man..’

He couldn’t ignore it. Not that.  
Opening them wouldn’t hurt him.

Kamal slowly opened his eyes, to see a familiar shadow entity. It stood at the foot of his bed, smiling a less toothy grin than before. He snapped out of that weird trance, and sat up straight. Back pressed against the wall. His breath was so discombobulated, that he started feeling light headed. The shadow seemed to notice this, as it started to crawl onto the bed.  
Closer.  
Closer.

It sat right next to him. Kamal could barely comprehend it all. The monster from the hospital followed him home..  
How long was it with him???? What did it want???? What was it going to do to hi-

Oh.

Kamal’s attention was directed towards the demon’s eyes. Something about those crimson eyes, was too captivating. He couldn’t look away no matter what his instincts told him.  
It was almost as if a white noise was slowly filling his mind.

He just  
Had to keep looking.

The demon smiled and put a finger to his lips.

“Shhhhhhh. That’s it. Just relax my littol friend.” It’s voice was softer than Kamal ever imagined a demon to sound like.

Kamal felt his muscles loosen up and he leaned off his wall. The demon’s cold hands lightly touched his face, almost caressing it. His breathing was beginning to slow down.. getting calmer and calmer. The fear and anxiety just leaving his mind.  
Kamal let out a quiet sigh, as he felt the fingers run through his hair. Despite them being inhumanly cold, it was a sensation he had not felt in a long time. He then found himself, in what he assumed were arms, of the demon. Being held like that was certainly not something Kamal would ever think of, but he was too calm to react hastily.

The demon hummed a little, out of satisfaction, while running his fingers through the small human’s hair.  
“You remember me now...yes? Not from work. From the other nights.”

Kamal tried to recall. What..was it talking about?  
Then a memory suddenly hit him.  
Of his night terror from the night before. The same cold sensation overtook him and then the nightmare stopped. Kamal looked up at the demon, it was smugly waiting for an answer.  
“That….was you…?”

He nodded.  
“Very handy to have. I’m sure you agree.” His smile was eerily soft looking.

Kamal rested his head on the demon. His whole body just felt so at peace, that he couldn’t move that much. However one thought managed to slip out.  
“Who are you…?” Kamal asked in a whisper. 

“I told you my name, when you wanted to name the puppet. You remember.”

“....Habit.”

He softly chuckled. “I couldn’t help myself. Letting you name it..something silly would be too much.”  
Habit’s fingers caressed Kamal’s back, making him shiver once or twice. He could tell Kamal was very close to falling asleep, and carefully laid him back down.  
“Do not forget me this time. I can-not promise I will stay put.”

“O..ka..y...” Kamal whispered, right as he fell back asleep.

Habit smirked, walked to the puppet and looked back at Kamal sound asleep.  
‘Such a sillee human. Full of fear and anxiety. He is lucky to have me.’

 

 

Parsley awoke that morning, late as usual, but he didn’t hear Kamal moving about at all. Usually he was awake at such an early time-  
The memory suddenly smacked into him. That. thing. It stood over Kamal and….  
SMACK!

He tried to snap himself out of it. If he kept jumping to conclusions like that, he’d drive himself mad. Kamal was sick the previous night, so he had to take that into consideration.  
With a loud grunt, he ran his hands through his hair. Maybe he had to get away just for a little bit.

With a bit more urgency in his step, he went to give himself a fresh face wash. Right as he walked to the bathroom, he heard something move around in Kamal’s room. Almost like it was right around the corner.  
He nervously entered the bathroom and flicked the lights on as quick as he could.

Parsley looked up and shrieked.

 

“KAMAL YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!” Parsley yanked the freaky baby statue off the bathroom mirror.

Kamal’s loud laugh was followed by a thud. Parsley stomped out of the bathroom, to find Kamal on the ground laughing his head off.

“Oh man… ohhh man I wish I had a camera for that. Dumb bitch.”

Parsley huffed and set the dumb statue on the coffee table. Then went back into the bathroom. Kamal wiped his eyes and sighed happily. It was such a basic trick.  
Though, this threw Parsley totally off his game. Kamal almost looked like he was perfectly fine.  
What in the hell was going on????

 

 

Later that morning, Kamal sat on the couch with some cereal. Parsley on the other end of the couch, was just eating a poptart while glancing at Kamal now and then.  
Kamal took notice and chuckled a little.

  
“You aren’t mad about the baby thing are you? You can totally get me back you know.”

“No. I.” Parsley fidgeted with his short’s strings. “Did...you sleep okay last night?”

Kamal raised a brow in confusion. “Uh. Yeah..? Why? Did you have a nightmare or something?”

“....Maybe. I. Okay. Be honest with me for a second. No pranks. No jokes.” Parsley fully turned to Kamal, whom looked very confused.

“O...kay?” Kamal set his bowel on the coffee table and turned to Parsley. “Spit it out.”

Parsley took a deep breath. “Have you seen anything weird lately? Like in the dark..?”

Kamal just stared at Parsley, trying to process what Parsley just said.   
“Have you?”

“Uh. I’m answering-fUCK I mean asking the questions Kamal. Please.” Parsley sighed. Hoping and praying that perhaps his friend had seen something or felt anything odd. Anything to make it so he wasn’t going crazy.

“Aside from some cameras glitching out at work, nothing. Ghosts haunting a hospital isn’t too outlandish to consider right? I mean..I never mentioned anything to you because to be honest, you don’t handle that stuff very well.”

Parsley scoffed. “Gee thanks pal. I thought I said we weren’t joking. Please Kamal, I feel like I'm losing my mind here."

“Yeah. Sorry. Look. If anything followed me home, I’m sure it might go away in a while. I mean. Sometimes I hear things in the apartment.”

Parsley heavily sighed in relief. “That's great. Because I’m actually bringing a friend over, to kinda check this place out if there is something here."

Then the oddest thing happened to the air of the room.  
It felt volatile. Almost claustrophobic. As if hundred of eyes were glaring at Parsley.  
Kamal just looked at Parsley, as if he was ticked off that Parsley didn’t tell him.

  
“Oh.”

 Parsley felt frozen for a moment until Kamal sighed.

“Sorry. I’m. Still getting used to the idea of believing in this stuff.” Kamal nervously laughed. “I guess I should be here for your ‘friends' visit right?”

“Yeah. Just in case. Maybe she's actually a psychic and CAN see what I think is floating around here. Maybe it’s taking a toll on us.”

Kamal looked off into nothing. “Maybe.”

 

Silence filled the air, neither of them knew what to say to each other.

 

Kamal snapped back to reality when he heard the phone ring. “I got it.” He rushed over and picked the phone off it’s line.  
“Hello?”

“Ah son! So sorry if I woke you up honey.” It was a woman's voice.  
Of course.  
It was his mother.  
How long had it been since they last spoke?  
All Kamal could remember was screaming at his dad over the phone, about 5 months ago.

This time he could feel the anger inside him boiling. All he had to do was play it cool. Deep breath.  
“Hi Mom.” That was all he had to say for Parsley to hear.

Parsley looked over in Kamal’s direction, well aware of his roommate’s mood shift.  
‘Of all the times to fucking call him..’ Parsley thought to himself.  
He had a few run-ins with Mr. and Mrs Bora, and he honestly wished they would just go away Parsley quieted his thoughts for a second, to listen in to what Kamal was saying.

“No I’m not talking about that to you. ...Because you’d tell him!!! That's why!!!...Mom. Mom look this isn’t a good time to talk.”

  
Kamal didn’t even say bye. He just slammed the phone down on the receiver and let out a loud groan.  
“I’m I’m going to take a shower.” Kamal said, while stomping his way to his room and then to the bathroom.

Now things made more sense. Parsley shook his head and sighed. Kamal was just going through a lot and it was starting to get to him. If there truly was a ghost like he said, maybe it followed Kamal for that reason. Hah. How ironic. He was starting to sound like a paranormal investigator.  
However, he couldn’t bring that reason up to Kamal. Not with...that conversation that just occurred.

Just then, the phone rang again. Was it her again? God Parsley was ready to tear into that woman. He straightened out his shirt, to ease his jitters and picked up the phone.

  
“Hello?”

“Ah. Sorry, is Kamal there?” It wasn’t a woman, but a man. He sounded vaguely familiar.

“Speaking?”

“Oh! Sorry I’m his co-worker. Wallus. Wallus Breadbear. He went home sick yesterday and said he would call me. I haven’t heard from him since he left though..”

“Wallus! Yeah, Kamal had spoken about you before. I’m his roommate. Kamal’s in the shower right now, but I can let you know how he’s been.”  
That was a relief. Kamal had spoken of Wallus in high regards many times. Nothing suspicious there.  
“He mostly slept to be honest. Kamal looks fine today though.”

Wallus sighed happily. “”That's a relief. Tell him I’m sorry about yesterday.”

Something made Parsley speak out, before Wallus could hang up.

“Yesterday? What happened yesterday?”

  
Their conversation about ghosts, suddenly came to his mind.

  
“AH… It..He might have told me a little bit about it. There might be a haunting there at the office?”

“Pfft. That’s putting it lightly pal but yeah. Something spooky-”

“-Did you see it? The ghost I mean.”

Wallus stayed quiet for a moment. He was caught off guard by Parsley’s sudden change in tone.  
“Yeah...Why? Listen if this is a joke-”

“-No Wallus it isn’t. I. Ugh sorry. Just. tell me if this sounds like it.” Parsley took a deep breath and began describing it. “Tall..Dark shadowy looking thing. Almost humanoid. Red eyes? Sometimes shows it’s teeth?”

The line was dead silent, all except for Wallus’ breath sounding a bit shaken.  
“Oh….fuck.. Listen. I’m on a time crunch right now uh...I’ll call again later tonight. Please be fucking careful.”

“Wallus hang on!”

“Sorry, I’ll be back at around 8..”

Click.

 

Fuck. Fuck.  
Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck.

Parsley leaned against the wall, overtaken by what he had just heard. Whatever they had seen in the hospital..  
Was in the apartment.

“I was right…” Parsley muttered to himself.

“Who was that?” Kamal said, almost scaring the shit out of Parsley.

He wasn’t even aware the shower was turned off, but Kamal’s hair was still a little wet. Perhaps he got too distracted to notice.

“Was it her again? I told you not to answer her calls-”

“-It was Wallus.”

It took a second until Kamal’s eyes went wide. “FUCK! I forgot to call him last night!!! Ugh. He wasn't too pissed was he?"

What was this feeling Parsley had in his gut? For some reason, he felt hesitant to tell Kamal about their conversation. Its not that he couldn't trust Kamal..but the guy had to deal with so much lately. He could tell him later.

  
"Yeah, he was just worried about you. I told him you were in the shower. And uh... Sorry about your mom bugging you."

Kamal shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I've got enough on my plate already."  
He almost walked off, but stopped mid-step.  
"Oh. By the way. Did Wallus say anything else?"

Shit.  
"What do you mean..?"

"Anything else." Kamal wasn't facing Parsley.  
His voice gave Parsley goosebumps, just from the tone alone.

Shit Shit Shit Shit  
He licked his lips and chuckled. "Nah. Nothing else. He'd...just say he'd talk to you later.."

"Oh, cool. I'm going to go fold some laundry."  
Kamal's tone was back to normal.

This was too much for Parsley, the guessing game with Kamal's tone and behavior. Was he just stressed??? Tired from being sick????  
Or maybe p-  
No.  
No he can't say that yet.  
He sighed and decided to use the phone one last time.

 

 

It had been about an hour since Parsley called Jerafina. He had already let Kamal know that she'd be there very soon, but he reacted normally. He just seemed to be doing his daily routine.  
Parsley muted the tv, as soon as he heard knocking at their door.

'Thank god.' he thought to himself.

He looked through the peephole, and there she was. Jerafina looked much more composed than the last time Parsley saw her. Perhaps Lulia finally convinced her to clean up her act. Worked for him, he needed her as sober as possible.

"Hey Jera. You look good."

Jerafina laughed and hugged Parsley.

"Hells yeah man. I told youuu. Tho I promise you that my vocabulary is squeaky-clean around the kiddos. Last thing I want is Parents callin' me up all pissed." She laughed while being lead in by Parsley.

She raised her brows a little and fidgets with her glasses.  
"Huh. Guess they aren' dirty. Your apartment is actually clean."

"Jera, please. You're starting to sound like a mom." Parsley groaned.

Jerafina rolled her eyes and had her hands on her hips playfully.  
"Listen. I babysit kids all fuckin' day. Sometimes the mindset still be there y'know haha." She looked around, as if she was expecting someone. "Soooo where's that roomie you spoke of?"

"Oh. He's doing his own thing in his room right now. He'll probably come out later." Parsley chuckled, but stopped when Jerafina got quiet.

She was staring in the direction of Kamal's bedroom, not saying a word.

"Jera?"

 

She felt something.  
Only on rare occasions, did she ever pick up on something like that. Chills ran up and down her spine, when she could actually see it. Something through the walls, was looking dead at her. Not with just two eyes, but dozens of them. She could feel it.  
It really didn't like the fact that she could see it.

"It's...probably a good thing he isn't here Parse." She turned to look at him, her face a bit pale. "You gotta tell fill me in. As much you can. I'm dead serious Parse.."

Parsley then realized why she was so shaken. "Can....you see it...? In daylight..?"

Jerafina turned away from the wall and sat down.  
"I can't look at it Parse. It already noticed me." She said almost in a whisper.

Parsley sat down next to her. Feeling almost as shaken as her. It was active right now??????? It made no sense.

  
"I thought ghosts were only active at night?? You see these things on a regular basis don't you?"

Jerafina tried to shush him but it almost sounded like a hiss. Or an imitation of a hiss.  
"Yes! Thanks for fuckin' reminding me...But Parse. You don't got a ghost in this joint.." Jerafina tried to get her words out, but it almost looked like she was scared to. "You have a demon in this place.."

Parsley's blood ran cold. He could practically feel it drain from his face and neck.  
The. Dream.  
The 'dream' was real.  
He came face to face with a demon

  
"Oh fuck..." Parsley whispered. "If..If its been hanging around Kamal then d-"

 

The bedroom door opened.  
Kamal stood there with a hand in his pocket, looking at the both of them as if he just. Knew.  
"Hey. How come you guys got so quiet?"


	4. Sensations and Perceptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jerafina meets the demon face to face, but is she ready for it?  
> Or does she?  
> Is Kamal still even in there?  
> He won't tell.  
> That's for you to decide.

The air was so thick with suspense, that it could have been cut with a knife. Thankfully, it appeared that Kamal was unarmed and didn’t look hostile. Something about him just seemed off, and Jerafina was fixated on it.

“Sorry ‘bout that! I thought you were asleep er ...Kamal was it?” Jerafina smiled at him.

Kamal laughed a little. “No I was doing laundry. Well...tried to. I folded all my shirts and then just spaced out.”

Parsley seemed too suspicious of this, so Jerafina nudged him a little. “Well glad ya’ snapped out of it! C’mon you feel like chillin’ with us?” She smirked mischievously.

 “As long as you don’t pull a Ouija board out of nowhere and tell us to use it.” Kamal commented while walking to the fridge to rummage through it. “I’m not too keen on being made to spider walk down any stairs because of that!” He laughed.

 Normally Parsley would jester back, but that felt too coincidental for him. Referencing The Exorcist, when there was clearly something supernatural already in their apartment? Too fucking ironic.

 Jerafina looked collected despite it all. Though she was subtly keeping an eye on Kamal.

 "So. How do you two know each other again?" Kamal said, walking back to the living room. He sat down in a recliner across from the couch Jerafina and Parsley were on.

 Jerafina laughed at the memory.  
"Ooohhhh man, it was the dumbest shiz'. So like, this bar tried to take me to court for a public disturbance dispute. Aaand guess who represented me??" Jerafina threw her arm around Parsley.  
"They lost the freakin' case! So Parse and I went out for drinks to celebrate. Then we became drinkin' buuuds."

 Parsley wiggled out of her arms and felt hot in the face.  
"That was a while ago though. I don't go out for drinks as much anymore."

 Jerafina smiled at him. "HELLS YEAUH SOBER CLUUUB!!"  
Then gave him a highfine so painful, Kamal winced at the sound of the sting.

 Parsley rubbed his hand on his pants and groaned a bit. "Jeez Jera.. always at an 11. Can you tone it down to like a 5 maybe?"

 "Maybe, if the wind moves me." Jerafina teased.

 Kamal chuckled a little watching them, but it seemed like he couldn't think of anything to say.  
However that general feeling of unease crept back into the room. It wasn't there when Jerafina spoke..  
Parsley looked at Jerafina, then at Kamal. He actually really needed to use the restroom, but he wasn't sure if leaving Jerafina alone would be a good idea. She just shot him a knowing look, and smiled. Parsley then excused himself, crossing his fingers that it would go alright.

It became deathly quiet between Kamal and Jerafina. He just stared at her without a trace of emotion on his face. She knew all too well that three beings existed in that room.

"So. Ya gonna rattle ya tail like that, or are ya gonna say somethin'?" Jerafina remarked.

 Kamal simply stared back. "He doesn't have a tail."

 "Oh so its a he? Well what about a name? If he has one. Most demons do."

No response.  
Just slow blinking.

 

Jerafina sighed. "Alrighty. Can I at least know which one of ya I'm talkin' to?"  
This demon was trying to annoy her or something because she could feel the energy shift around her. She wasn’t backing down from the supernatural entity. Perhaps she would consider it foolish, or brash.  
“C’mon. You can’t lie your way out of this one.” She glared at the guy across from her.

 

Kamal rubbed his eye and stretched without breaking eye contact with Jerafina. The air around them felt more heavy as Kamal straightened his posture.  
“Your questions are very annoyingk you know.” A voice estranged from Kamals, echoed from him.  
The temperature dropped instantly.

Jerafina couldn’t move. Everytime she tried to jerk or lift herself off the couch, her body almost entirely ignored the command.  
“What….did you do…?” She managed to barely groan.

Kamal’s expression was that of a deranged man, a smile too wide and eyes with a piercing gaze. He just snapped his fingers and Jerafina finally saw what was holding her down. Translucent hands were all over her body, pressing them down onto the couch. All of them were coming from Kamal, or rather whatever was inside of him. Floating red transparent eyes started to appear around him, one in front of his own eyes.  
“You wan-ted to know who you were speaking to yes?” It snickered. “Well here I am!~ Boy oh boy..I can sure smell that fear com-ing off of you.. Did you take more than you could chew?”  
He got closer.  
“Yes. Yes you did.”

The hands gripped tightly on her, feeling her urge to run away increase. Her heat felt like it would rupture from how fast it was beating.

He was inches away from her face.

The eyes were swarmed around her at this point. ‘Kamal’ grinned from ear to ear, as if he was just given a big birthday cake to tear apart.

Oh god help her. God someone

ANYONE

 

 

 

“Jerafina?” Parlsey’s voice cut through the air like a knife.

 

She blinked a few times in shock, and then violently came back to reality. Parsley was still next to her. Kamal was still in his chair looking at her in concern.

“Is she okay..? Is spacing out like that normal?” Kamal muttered.

‘W h a t…?  
That was.. . . . Not real? No. It had to be. I felt it. I..’ Jerafina tried to think to herself, hugging her arms close to her body.  
Then she felt it.  
On her shoulder was a bruise, that wasn’t there before she came over. Jerafina glanced up at Kamal, who looked uneasy at her gaze. Was that another act, or was Kamal genuinely out of the loop? Frustratingly, she couldn’t tell.

Kamal looked at Jerafina, finally finding the urge to speak. “Did...you see something?? Did you see the ghost?”

Jerafina weighed her options in front of her. She had no idea who was piloting that guy at that moment. However, that thing was watching. She knew it was. There weren’t any eyes floating around Kamal anymore. No disembodied hands. Not even a shadow figure.  
‘Perhaps that thing is hiding…’ She pondered.  
“Sorry. I.” The hesitation almost overtook her. She had to tell the truth. She HAD to. With a deep breath, Jerafina spoke.  
“I saw it. It spoke to me.”

Parsley got up out of shock.  
“What?! I didn’t see or hear anythin-Oh. Right I forgot you’re more sensitive to that stuff.. Anyway. What did it do?? You spaced out really hard.”

“..It does not want me here.”

 

Kamal raised a brow but still appeared to be empathetic. “That's not unheard of-”

“-And it’s attached itself to you.” Jerafina said, not blinking an eye at Kamal.

“Wait...What…?” Parsley’s mouth hung open. “So, I’m not crazy then..”

“The fuck does that mean?! You think I’m possessed?!” He turned to Parsley, fists balled. “You believe this?! I believe in ghosts sure but..me possessed?! Why should I believe her??”

Parsley sputtered out the first thing that came to his mind. “Kamal. I mean. Weird things have been happening around you for a few days now-”

Kamal stomped past the both of them, off to his room and started getting his shoes.

“Kamal what are you doing?” Parsley called back.

“GOING OUT. Or is that too ‘unlike me’, oh no better take me to the fucking church and get me exorcised!! I don’t need this bullshit.” Kamal moved Parsley out of the way and glared at Jerafina on his way to the door.

“Kamal please just listen for a sec’-” Jerafina tried to diffuse the situation.

“-Shut it.” Kamal said. “I’ll be back when I feel like it. Enjoy your fucking seance by yourselves.” He grabbed his keys and slammed the door behind him. Leaving the apartment with an aura of tension and unease.

Parsley shook a little and hugged himself. He felt so helpless. One of the few friends he had almost became an entirely different person and there was nothing he could do-  
-No. There was something he could do. With a newfound sense of determination, Parsley sat Jerafina back down.  
“Tell me everything that happened...and what can I do to put that fucking thing in it’s place.”

Rain poured down on Kamal, feeling more like someone flicking his skin rather than rain hitting him. He just needed to be somewhere. Anywhere than the nuthouse his apartment had become. Deep down, something was urging him to think more on what they were trying to tell him.  
Was it all real?  
Was he going insane?  
The thoughts danced around him, even when he went inside a bar. He plopped down onto the bar stool and ordered a shot of tequila. Rather than operating himself, he felt more like he was on autopilot.  
Until something broke him out of his haze.

"Hallo. Is this seat next to you take-n?"

That voice sent chills throughout his entire body. He instantly turned to the source of the voice and the shock made his body vibrate.  
There he was.  
Long hair.. Tall...

He smiled at Kamal and sat down anyway.  
"You just look like you are needing the company." He smiled.

W

 

h at

i s happp ening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this one is shorter than the other chapters and another apology for the late late update.  
> Smile for me is a fleeting interest as of late but I still plan on at least getting an ending out of this prompt.  
> Huhu. Regardless I hope you enjoyed that big ol' cliffhanger ;-)  
> Shit is getting real, or is it?  
> ;;;;-J


End file.
